Water Power Peer Review

Ken Rhinefrank
Direct Drive Wave Energy Buoy
Manta Direct Drive Wave Energy Converter
[Columbia Power Technologies, Inc.]
[krhinefrank@columbiapwr.com]
[November 2, 2011]

1 | Program Name or Ancillary Text eere.energy.gov

Purpose, Objectives, & Integration

Challenges-Barriers-Knowledge Gaps
Wave energy is the only renewable energy source that is not
commercially installed. Numerous designs and concepts exist
and most are early stage with limited knowledge concerning the
actual CoE or ability to operate and survive in this harsh
environment.

Furthermore the systems can be complex in design, non-linear

in performance and include numerous cost uncertainties such
as grid integration and permitting. In real sea conditions,
numerical energy predictions can be off by over 40%. Until
prototypes are designed built and tested we will not know the
true cost of energy or be able to reliably forecast methods of
cost reduction.

2 | Wind and Water Power Program eere.energy.gov

Purpose, Objectives, & Integration

How Solving Problem Relates to Program Mission

The design and development of a wave energy system is
complex and detailed. Only through a staged project
development approach, where actual performance and
operation are measured and observed experimentally at
a sufficiently large scale and where complete system
designs are developed, built and tested, can the actual
cost of energy can be assessed.

3 | Wind and Water Power Program eere.energy.gov

Purpose, Objectives, & Integration

Integration of this Project

Results from this project are used to inform the utility-
scale design process, improve cost estimates, accurately
forecast energy production and to observe system
operation and survivability. Knowledge and experience
gained from this project is applied to major program
objectives including:
Design and certification of the commercial-scale system
Land-based test of a commercial-scale generator, bearing and seals
Open-ocean deployment of a commercial-scale DDR WEC in
conjunction with a recognized independent testing center.

4 | Wind and Water Power Program eere.energy.gov

Technical Approach

Project Approach
The primary goal of this project is an intermediate-scale
(1:7) bay/ocean test of a novel Direct-Drive Rotary Wave
Energy Converter (DDR WEC). Key tasks include:
WEC Optimization
Shape, CG, inertial using AQWA and Wave Dyne numerical models
PTO Controls Optimization
33rd scale tank testing, performance and survival analysis
7th scale testing at sea (design, build, deployment and experiments)
Data analysis of 7th scale results
Integration of findings into Commercial Scale Design

5 | Wind and Water Power Program eere.energy.gov

Technical Approach

WEC body optimization complete

AQWA numerical optimization
Over 368 unique shape simulations
311 unique CG and inertia simulations
1700+ hours of computer simulation time
Gen 3.1 230% energy capture improvement versus
Gen 3 15th scale
PTO Controls Optimization
Ballast Optimization
Interim Optimization Report complete

6 | Wind and Water Power Program eere.energy.gov

Technical Approach

33rd scale tank testing and performance analysis complete

Design & Fabrication complete
Testing services and test plan contracted and completed
Regular waves, irregular waves, 50 year and 100 year storm waves
Wave data has been analyzed
Performance measures and RAOs assessed
Numerical and experimental comparisons in progress, example RAO below

7 | Wind and Water Power Program eere.energy.gov

Technical Approach

7th scale Testing at sea (design, fabrication, ops. and experiment)

SEA TRIAL UNDERWAY

Deployment
Site

Seattle

8 | Wind and Water Power Program eere.energy.gov

Technical Approach

Data Analysis
Data Collection and Deployment ongoing
Wave occurrence is ~40% of the time in winter
Remote WEC data collection through 3G network
AWAC data collection through periodic site visits
7-24 surveillance camera
Solar power small waves in summer
Periodic service visits
Periodic battery charges
Analysis Methodology is developed
Third-party review of approach ongoing
Statistical characterization of waves
Assessment of data quality
Integrate Findings into Commercial Scale Design
Design in progress
9 | Wind and Water Power Program eere.energy.gov
Plan, Schedule, & Budget

Schedule
Initiation date: December 1, 2009
Planned completion date: March 26, 2011
Deployment extended beyond May 2011 by up to nine months to collect more
data
Milestones
FY10
WEC Optimization
33rd scale wave tank experiment
7th scale design
FY11
Permits approved
7th scale fabrication complete
Deployment Underway
WEC Recovery
Data Analysis
Commercial design integration
10 | Wind and Water Power Program eere.energy.gov
Plan, Schedule, & Budget

Go/no-go decision points

FY12/FY13
Performance and cost assessment
Utility scale prototype site selection
Project funding availability for major tasks:
PTO test
Commercial scale build and deployment

Budget:
Remaining budget will be utilized during remainder of deployment period
71% of budget utilized to date.
Budget History
FY2009 FY2010 FY2011

DOE Cost-share DOE Cost-share DOE Cost-share

0 0 $573K $573K $601K $601K

11 | Wind and Water Power Program eere.energy.gov

Accomplishments and Results

230% increase in energy capture

Successful Design/Fabrication, Puget Sound-Deployment

Knowledge gained through the design, fabrication, test and
deployment of a 7 ton intermediate scale WEC is extensive and has
proven to be an essential and valuable stage in our technology
readiness level.

Continued operation at sea for over eight months

This milestone is demonstrating a viable technology for extracting
energy from ocean waves and provides confidence in our design as
we move toward an open-ocean utility-scale demonstration.
Preliminary indications of energy generation are on track with
numerical estimates.

12 | Wind and Water Power Program eere.energy.gov

Challenges to Date

Prototype Power draw very high

Causes:
Active/Standby design load 60/40 W, design creep and deviation from spec ->105W
105W = 95 kW full scale equivalent -> Instrumentation does not scale down well
Original charge frequency 20 to 25 days with average WEC shaft power of 45W
Deployment extension into summer months (less wave energy)
Power electronics failure

Solutions:
$3k battery charges at 2x per week
Installation of Solar panels kept electronics working all summer without charges
Upgrades to wave energy power electronics
Future systems installed in small scale wave climates need more storage and backup
energy sources.

13 | Wind and Water Power Program eere.energy.gov

Challenges to Date

DDR voltage and power variance and high demand on

electronics eventually caused failure
Causes:
Cyclic speed and voltage with average levels an order of magnitude lower than peak.
Possible damage due to thermal overload
No commercially viable solution that fit the prototype needs requiring a custom solution
at this scale.
Accelerated design path to meet schedule

Solutions:
Original design and backup designs planned for this failure and applied linear damping
controls even in failed conditions which allowed for continued collection of performance
data.
Redesigned and repaired power electronics.
Commercial design includes cost tradeoffs between voltage peak reduction and over-
specified power electronics.
Post deployment autopsy to find possible cause
14 | Wind and Water Power Program eere.energy.gov
Challenges to Date

Wave data analysis at 1:7 scale is difficult in ocean setting

Causes:
Relatively deep water (22m) decreased high frequency response of AWAC
7th scale spectrum is at the high frequency limit of commercially available and
deployable wave monitoring instruments that were practical at this location.
Regionally available intermediate scaled (1:4 to 1:10) wave climates do not support
larger than 1:7 scale tests.
Lager scales too expensive to test for this level of readiness.

Solutions:
Accept imperfection while assuring data is sufficient (marginally met at Nyquist rate)
Mount AWAC on a mid column buoy to increase frequency response.
Monitor data from AWAC through acoustic modem to WEC and then to shore
Post process time series data into spectral format using in-house code

15 | Wind and Water Power Program eere.energy.gov

Challenges to Date

Evaluating 1:7 scale wave data

Regions where shipping traffic produces relatively large waves introduce post
processing requirements not normally associated with tank testing or utility scale
ocean testing scenarios.
Solutions:
Creative post processing

Data collection requirements (frequency and quantity)

Prototype test requirements exceed those expected for a final utility application. Data
collection and storage for prototype testing requires very high reliability.

Solutions:
Not satisfied with dSpace/PC based solution used this time, alternatives are under
investigation

16 | Wind and Water Power Program eere.energy.gov

Next Steps

Continue deployed testing & determine when data is sufficient

Daily monitoring, post processing, WEC battery charges, AWAC servicing

WEC Recovery
Remove all equipment

Data Analysis

Commercial design integration

Final report

17 | Wind and Water Power Program eere.energy.gov